


A Really Bad Flu

by fishmanfictions



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Detroit Awakening, Detroit Evolution, Detroit Evolution Artfest (Detroit: Become Human), Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25198195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishmanfictions/pseuds/fishmanfictions
Summary: Gavin gets sick with the flu, and Nines has to take care of him during the time that he’s out of commission. Things happen, and they just have to deal with it!
Kudos: 17





	A Really Bad Flu

Even Nines didn’t realize how bad Gavin was sick. He is usually tired and quiet all the time (except for random annoying outbursts), so no one else noticed. Although Nines did hear him coughing over the radio on a stakeout, he never really caught on to what was actually happening. 

“Are you ok, Gavin?” He asked, after hearing violent coughs over his side of the radio. 

“All fine and dandy,” Gavin responded, sarcastically. 

He sounded somewhat congested, not at all the normal Gavin. The ‘real’ Gavin would’ve had a better response than, “Fine and dandy,” for God’s sake. 

But Nines wasn’t too concerned. He was more worried about the person they were looking for. Pretty much another one of those kids who get android parts illegally. Another Lazzo. It really sucked that of all people, it was kids who do this. Sometimes it was friends of androids, partners, any relationship, people would go to hell and back for them. That made Nines bittersweet, that within a few years, there were at least some people who wouldn’t kill him because he was manufactured at a CyberLife factory, but could get in serious trouble for doing so. 

Long story short, the stakeout was unsuccessful, to say the least. No one showed, nothing particularly interesting happened. Gavin has gotten progressively more and more silent as the night turned into day. 

“Well,” Nines sighed, defeated at last. “I guess we aren’t going back to the station empty handed.”

“Yeah…” Gavin mumbled, his voice hoarse. Nines heard the shifting of car-seat leather in the background. 

Did Gavin fall asleep? Or did he just shift himself? Nines had had enough, though. 

“Gavin, are you okay? You don’t sound very… well?” Nines cringed at the phrasing of his question. 

Hearing grumbles and curses on the other side of the mic, Nines took that as a ‘no’. Maybe he was sick? As much as he loved Gavin, his hygiene habits concerning stopping infections and illnesses were less than average. 

Once they got back to the station, and Nines saw Gavin’s face for the first time in a while, Nines knew he was sick. A cold, maybe, but the congestion and cough could go with a flu. He’d have to think on it a bit more, and observe Gavin. He would be able to diagnose him after all, “You have the whole-ass internet in your goddamn brain, for God’s sake,” Is how Gavin loved to put it. Nines was a bit bitter about not getting anything done last night, but he pushed it aside to make room for his concern for Gavin. 

As the day went on, Nines was working alone. Gavin went home for some sleep before coming back later on, which Nines assumes pretty much meant. “I am going to sleep for two hours then come back and be my workaholic self, okay?”

Still, Nines worked hard all day, putting his bitterness of last night into his work. Cases he had been putting off to work on the illegal selling of android parts now suddenly had extreme amounts of growth, as he found new leads. Nines worked surprisingly well when fueled by negative emotions. Well, as negative as emotions can get for androids. 

Surprisingly, Gavin didn’t come back all day. Nines stayed until well into the night, but he didn’t come. That got him worried. Gavin doesn’t sleep this long, maybe he slept a bit too late and decided to just staying home? Either way, Nines was still worried. He shot him a text, saying, “You ok?” 

Fifteen minutes pass, and Gavin finally answers: “Yeah, a bit sick” and a message sent right after, “Just a bad cold, I’ll be back in tomorrow” A wave of relief washed over him. ‘Just a bad cold,’ is better than he could hope for. A flu would mean he’d have to stay home. Most of the station wouldn’t miss Gavin, but Nines would. 

“Get rest, I’m gonna need some help tomorrow. Bring a mask if you’re still coughing tomorrow, ok?” Nines replied. 

No answer. That’s fine, since he knew what was going on, Nines wasn’t going to nag him about it. As he was driving home, he got another text from Gavin. 

“Could you come over?” He said. 

Nines pulled over to respond, “How come?” He asked. 

“Just do it”

Nines turned his car around and drove to Gavin’s. It couldn’t hurt to check in on him, and he was asking for help. 

As he walked into Gavin’s apartment, something seemed off. It wasn’t a huge, looming feeling, but it was there. 

“Hello?” Nines called out hesitantly. 

“Over here,” Gavin said groggily from his bedroom, followed by a cough. 

Nines jogged across the small living room and peeked into Gavin’s room, seeing him under blanket after blanket. 

“I’m taking this as ‘I’m not coming in tomorrow?” Nines joked. 

Gavin glared from under his burrow of blankets, “No, of course I’m coming in tomorrow, I feel terrific!” Gavin leaned over the side of the bed and puked into a bucket, proving his point. 

“M’kay, do you need help? Is that why you asked me to come over?” Nines asked, and sat on the corner of the bed. 

“Nah, just wanted someone to hang out with, since you’re an android you can’t get sick, or whatever,” Gavin muttered. 

“True, although I can spread germs, so I’ll have to clean myself before going to work tomorrow morning,” Nines said, and helped sit him up. 

The room might have been dark, but Gavin’s face was more gray than his wallpaper. He was most definitely sick with more than a cold. 

Going full diagnosis mode, he put a hand to his forehead, and took Gavin’s temperature. 100.4, not incredibly high, but it’s a fever, in line with common flu symptoms. 

“Puking, fever, coughing… have you been very tired?” Nines asked, checking the web for credible sites on flu symptoms. 

Gavin nodded, and Nines had all he needed, “You more likely than not have the flu, so it’s better you stay home, okay?” He laughed. 

“Oh shit, the flu?” Gavin jumped. 

He seemed a bit more concerned than most about the flu, Nines asked what that was about. 

“Just that I’ve been at work for three whole days with the flu!” Gavin slapped his forehead, looking incredibly guilty. 

“You’re concerned for others? Who are you and what did you do to Gavin?!” Nines put a hand on Gavin’s shoulder, laughing. 

“I’m serious, Tin Can, even I know the flu’s some bad shit, a lot of people have probably gotten sick,” Gavin groaned. 

“I’m sure it’s fine, I’ll call in for you if you’d like? You should probably get some rest,” Nines pointed to the clock reading ‘11:47 pm’ and stood up to go. 

“Could you,” Gavin hesitated. “Could you stay with me?” He asked nervously. 

“I mean sure, although I want to do a few things before I go and rest,” Nines left the room. 

Picking up his phone, he texted Fowler about Gavin’s condition, and that neither himself or Gavin will not be at work tomorrow. He then texted the group chat with friends from the station, encouraging them to be safe, as they were most in contact with Gavin, aside from himself. 

Tina was the only one who responded, although Nines saw that other people read his messages. At least they know sooner, rather than later, although Nines wish they would sleep. He then washed his hands to make sure germs wouldn’t be getting everywhere. Even though he’d wash his hands before he left, you can never be too careful. 

Nines cleaned the living room up a little bit before going back into Gavin’s room, saying, “I’m gonna rest in the living room, okay?”

“Yeah that’s great, you would get any rest hearing me puke and cough all night.”

“I can turn hearing off, but I appreciate the sentiment, Meat Sack,” Nines used that nickname in a mix of sarcasm and endearment, but he’s noticed it usually comes out harshly. This time Gavin was too sick to react, and Nines went to the couch. 

Sleeping as an android is just about as much as what you’d expect. Nothing weird, just the day going by and being filed into different parts of the memory. It’s very similar to human sleep in that sense, although the human brain makes dreams and nightmares, androids just get to re-watch the day as they process. 

Androids can go without sleep about as much as a human can go without sleep, 72-ish hours, so Nines wasn’t worried about not getting the proper amount of rest. He didn’t sleep much anyways, only a few hours each night, since he could work so late. It’s hypocritical, he always tells his friends to sleep, but then does the exact opposite himself. 

Around 4:00 am, Nines awoke to the sounds of violent puking. He really should have turned off his hearing. 

“Hey Nines!” Gavin yelled from his room. “Could ya help me out for a second?”

Getting up from the couch, Nines turned on the living room light and walked to Gavin’s room. 

“Yeah, could you get some Advil for me? My head’s killing me,” He mumbled, sitting up. 

“Cold medicine would be better, is there any in the bathroom?” Nines asked him, turning around. 

“Yep, in the mirror cabinet.”

Nines rummaged around in the medicine cabinet, finding Advil, regular meds, allergy meds, and finally, cold medicine. As he walked back to Gavin’s bedroom, he poured the medicine into a cup. 

“I’m going to turn the light on,” Nines warned, before flipping the light switch. 

He handed medicine to Gavin, who drank it quickly. 

“These always give me massive headaches, the opposite of what I’d like,” He said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Well, better than coughing and whatever all night,” Nines pointed out, and went to leave the room. 

“You’ll be alright?” He asked, turning around before flipping the light off. 

“Yeah, I’ll be good in a bit.”

“Good night, again,” Nines shut off the lights and left the room. 

Laying down on the couch, Nines closed his eyes, and fell asleep. 

The next morning, at around 10 am, Nines woke up. Checking his phone, a few responses from the group chat, and Fowler telling both of them to stay home, don’t want to risk others getting sick, unless he was properly cleaned and whatever. Nines didn’t need to be told this, but it’s always a relief to not explain your decisions. 

After checking in on Gavin, who was scrolling through his phone in bed, Nines decided to make some food. He made toast, coffee, and prepped a pot to make pasta later on for lunch/dinner. Since Nines might have to go and work if the day got too quiet, but it’d take a lot of energy for Gavin to cook. 

“Hey, I took out stuff for lunch, but for now do you want to eat something in here?” Nines asked Gavin as he walked through the door of his bedroom. 

“I’ll eat here, thanks,” Gavin said, looking from his phone for a second to respond. 

“You should probably watch TV instead of staring at a tiny screen you know.”

“Fair enough,” Gavin was too sick and tired to argue, an incredible moment, just under very unfortunate circumstances. 

While grabbing the toast and coffee from the kitchen counter, Nines got a message from his phone. 

“Could you come in today?” Sent from Fowler. 

“Oh come on,” Nines groaned, and opened up his phone to text back. 

“Sure, give me a bit to get ready,” He typed. 

Nines slapped his forehead, but continued, carrying Gavin’s breakfast over to him. Opening the door, he saw Gavin turning on the TV. 

“I need to go back to the station, would you mind keeping track of your symptoms please?” Nines requested, as he put the plate on Gavin’s nightstand. 

“Sure, and thanks for the food,” Gavin took the coffe and took a sip. 

“Great, I’ll make sure I’m clean before I’ll leave, see you later!” Nines waved as he left, shutting the door. 

After washing his hands and face, Nines left Gavin’s apartment. 

On the drive back to the station, Nines got a text from Gavin, “Puked again, thought you should know”

Of course, else would Gavin keep track?. He’s trying to annoy him, maybe getting back at Nines for feeling things last night. Nines laughed at the thought of Gavin being so edgy he couldn’t cope with feelings. Then he realized it was partially true that he… kind of couldn’t deal with that. 

When Nines finally reached the station, the parking lot was uncharacteristically empty. Is that why he was called in? What if more people got sick than both Gavin and Nines had assumed?

When he walked into the front lobby, no one was there. Maybe one or two androids passed by from the window, but it was surprisingly empty. When Nines went to the door, he noticed a piece of paper on the door. It read, “Due to many people calling out sick with the flu, it has been decided that it’s safer to have people who can get sick take a few days off, and for those who are sick to recover. This place will be cleaned while you work”

Nines took a few seconds to read this paper, and a few more for it to actually mean something. How many people got sick? It had to have been a lot for Fowler to close this place to humans. How come no one told Nines this was the case? He would have come in a lot sooner. 

As he walked to his desk, he saw a few androids. He never really paid attention to others during the work day, let alone talk to them. He was far too busy with his cases and stakeouts. That sounded conceited, but it helped him stay focused, with not being in the middle of coworker drama. 

The hours flew by surprisingly fast, with texts every now and then from Gavin. A cleaning crew came in to clean the bathrooms, then the least populated desk areas. Most of people in the station were human, so it made cleaning easier. 

Some of the androids around him were ticked off about having to come in. The general ideas surrounding androids is that since they can’t get sick, they’re ideal for working during those times when places are understaffed and are in need of workers. Nines never saw an issue with it, he understood why he was called in, he agreed to come in, and he loved his job. But he understood their annoyance, many surveys show that most androids report feeling disposable or feeling as though they were not as important as humans. 

Once it was about 5 o’clock pm, Nines asked to leave, so he could check back in on Gavin. Once he got into the car, he let Gavin know that he was coming back. Before he started driving, he decided to check the symptom texts he was sent throughout the day. 

“Normal flu stuff, that’s good,” Nines muttered, as he scrolled through. 

The puking had stopped, although still having unfavorable stomachaches. He got tired around halfway through the day and fell asleep. Coughing, sore throat, chills, a fever, all that fun stuff. 

Finally, Nines set off. While he was driving, he got a few more texts from Gavin. 

“Puking again”

“Also my fever’s been about 102 for a few hours”

Nines read that text, but kept driving. Fevers were fine, as long as he was hydrated and whatnot. Although, if it doesn’t die down tomorrow, Gavin should probably go to the hospital to get it checked out. Nines knew a person who once had a fever on and off for a week, but even though it was just a weird flu, you could never be too cautious. 

Once Nines got back to Gavin’s apartment, he saw that the pot and pasta box were still out. Had he not eaten? 

“Gavin?” Nines called out. 

No answer. 

“Gavin!” Nines ran to his bedroom. 

Gavin was in his bed sleeping. Nines sighed, “Gavin you have to eat, you’re not invincible.”

No answer again.

Nines started to get worried. He poked Gavin, again and again. Until he finally woke up, shooting up into a sitting position. 

“What the hell! I was sleeping!” Gavin shouted, looking furious. 

“You passed out, dumbass,” Nines huffed, and grabbed Gavin’s hand and started pulling him to the door. 

“Where are we going?!”

“To the goddamn hospital, I am not cool with letting you take care of yourself like this!” Nines said, dragging Gavin out the door and to his car. 

While driving to the hospital, Nines had to put up with Gavin’s non-stop complaining. It’s all, ‘I’m fine! I don’t need the hospital! It’s just the flu!’ It did not stop. 

With Nines dragging Gavin into the emergency room, he gave the front desk lady Gavin’s symptoms, and that he had passed out. She told them that they’re gonna have to wait, but that she’ll have someone keep an eye on them. 

They ended up waiting for three and a half hours, during which Gavin mumbled complaints, scrolled on his phone, slept a little, and annoyed Nines. You never realize how long emergency room wait times are. It was probably worse for those who obviously needed immediate help, for example, someone had a fractured wrist and was in pain, they were given an ice pack and told to wait. Although, it was a significantly shorter wait time than the two, which was probably for the best. 

Once they were finally let in, Nines was told to stay outside in the waiting room, the room they had wasn’t big enough for Gavin to stay comfortable with two other nurses. He supposed that was okay, but he got worried once they left. 

Gavin has often called Nines a ‘helicopter boyfriend’, and this was one of the times he realized it was very very true. But still, Nines was concerned over Gavin’s well-being. He was sick, and in the ER, not even a remotely good thing. Nines only now had the time to update Tina and Valarie about Gavin’s condition. 

Of course they started freaking out. Nines told them to chill out, that Gavin will be fine. 

“This is just a precaution, things are going to be fine,” Nines typed out. 

After they stopped blowing his phone up, he got a text from Gavin. A picture of him with an IV, looking some kind of okay. It was captioned ‘They said I’m fine, just a bad flu. Dehydrated tho, so there’s that’. 

Nines smiled, relieved that he’ll be ok. 

“That’s great! Tina and Valarie are freaking out though, could you PLEASE say you’re fine,” Nines begged. 

Gavin didn’t respond to that, although he did read it. Nines chuckled at that, but it’s okay, since they left him alone eventually. 

Around 12 am, Gavin sent another text, “They said that the tests should come back tomorrow, should we go home?”

Nines thought for a second, before responding with, “Sure, come on down and I’ll bring you to your place”.

Gavin came down, looking a lot better surprisingly. While they walked out the door, Gavin said, “They gave me some pain meds for the stomach and headaches, so I’m in heaven right now. Now I’m just-“ He gestured vaguely around his head. “You know.”

“Well that’s good, hopefully things will be okay tomorrow, so then you can get into work sooner,” Nines poked him in the ribs. 

“Why, you getting bored without someone to nag?”

“Maybe,” Nines smirked, and opened the car door for Gavin. 

On the drive home, Gavin fell asleep. The ride was long enough that once they got back to his house, it was 3 am and Gavin had slept all he could. 

“Jeez, you don’t sleep much do you?” Nines joked. 

“Stuff to think about. Also nightmares.”

“Ah,” Nines helped a tired Gavin into his apartment, and brought him to his bedroom. 

“Well,” Gavin laid down on his bed. “Night.”

“Good night, Gavin,” Nines smiled, and walked out the door. 

He slept on the couch again, opening his phone back up to about twenty messages from Chris, Tina, and Valarie all about Gavin. 

He decided it would be best to call them, since typing everything doesn’t always work. 

“Hey! How’s Gavin doing? Is he okay?” Chris asked as soon as he entered the call. Tina and Valarie joined right after, asking the same questions. 

“Gavin is sleeping, so be quieter!” Nines said. 

“Sorry! We’re just worried!” Valarie whined. 

“Yeah, I know, but he’ll be okay, he just needs rest.”

“Fine, also how did all of us get sick? I know Nines went in, but I heard that Chris was out as well,” Tina asked. 

“It’s the season, albeit a very severe flu season,” Nines laughed. “Nothing to be worried about, though, just a few days and all of you will be back to normal!”

“Hope so, I’m getting bored already!” Chris joked. 

“Well, you do live all by yourself, being sick must suck,” Tina said, while hugging Valarie to make a point. 

That got a good laugh out of everyone, but when a loud “Shut up, Tin Can!” was shouted from Gavin’s bedroom, Nines hopped off the call, saying his goodnights and goodbyes. 

He scrolled through his phone for a bit longer, checking messages from Fowler about wishing Gavin well, reviewing Gavin’s symptoms, just plain procrastinating sleep. Like how he would if Gavin was just fine. 

One particular message from Fowler read, “I am having everyone off of work tomorrow so the place can be thoroughly cleaned.”

Nines sighed from relief. He could keep an eye on Gavin, who was probably going to recover for the most part over the day, but just in case, he could be observed. Eventually, Nines fell asleep. 

The next morning, Nines awoke to the smell of toast and eggs. Confused, he stood up and looked into the kitchen. 

“Gavin?” Nines said upon seeing Gavin in front of the toaster oven, his head on the counter. 

“Hmm?” Gavin picked his head up, looking around. “Oh,” He noticed Nines in the doorway. “Oh it’s you, ‘morning.”

“Morning? I’m guessing that you feel a lot better,” Nines noticed. 

“Yeah, although I’m assuming you’re gonna keep me imprisoned here until I’m completely free of symptoms?”

“You bet your ass I will.”

They both shared a laugh, and Gavin continued to make his toast. Nines checked the clock, 9 o’clock in the morning. He found it funny how Gavin would be in bed, only getting out because he absolutely had to, and is now a sick, but recovering, Gavin who was up at 9 am, making himself breakfast. Gavin didn’t seem to notice his amusement, which made it even funnier. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work? I think I’ll be fine on my own,” Gavin mentioned, as the toaster beeped. 

“Oh, Fowler had everyone stay home. Cleaning or whatever.”

“Oh neat,” Gavin pulled the toast out of the oven and spread butter on it. 

“Yeah, you’re stuck with me,” Nines punched Gavin’s shoulder. 

Throughout the day, Nines noticed Gavin’s flu symptoms slowly dissipate, until it looked more like a bit of a head cold than anything else. 

“You know, the past few days have been crazy. Just last night you were in the Emergency Room, and now you’re here, pretty much fine,” Nines said, sitting at the kitchen table, watching Gavin eat his toast. 

“Yeah, although I’m pretty glad I got better so quickly, now I can annoy you better,” He laughed, poking Nines in the chest. 

When the tests came back, all the things that the nurses had suspected besides the flu had come back negative. It was just a really sucky flu. 

Both Gavin and Nines took this day off as time to spend together, since they work so much they can’t spend some nice quality time together. They watched TV, made some good dinner, and just enjoyed each other’s presence. 

The next day, things were business as usual. One thing, though, was different. Since people knew Gavin had to go to the hospital, people put up with him more. They didn’t mutter about him being a dick as much, or at least what Nines heard. People seemed to let him off easy for now. 

Thankfully, this never happened again, and Gavin was a bit more cautious about the spreading of germs, which Nines was very pleased with. A rumor has been going around though, that the only time Gavin has been reported to actually be nice, was when he got super sick. Nines always pretended not to know who started it. 

“Maybe it was Tina, or Valarie!” He always said. Gavin never bought it for a second. 

But the time that they spent together those days had impacted their relationships. Now they had seen each other in pretty vulnerable situations, that changes how you look at someone, whether it be for the better or for worse. 

This time, it was for the better.

**Author's Note:**

> I totally did not post this at 2 am after furiously editing noooo-
> 
> Anyways, this is my first public fan fiction! Or fan fiction period, but I hope to post more and more each month! A lot of July is going to be the DEArtfest, so prepare for that!


End file.
